The best food and cookware stores in Paris

Food and cookware shops in Paris

We love eating French food and love cooking French food so when we are in Paris we go food shopping. Paris is almost home to some of the best food and cookware shops in France.

France to many is, of course, the fashion capital of the world.  For them, any trip to France would not be complete without some serious pounding of the pavement along the Champs-Élysées and other shopping districts.

For us when we come here, it’s not uncommon to see our faces squished on the glass of a patisserie store wishing that we could come back as a French pastry chef in another life.

Best Food Store in Paris

G. Detou

This store is one of the oldest food stores in Paris.  It is located in what I like to call the “Golden Triangle” of food stores in the 2nd arrondissement.

When I was here the previous year, I think I bought a suitcase full of supplies from this store alone, so I could almost see the look of trepidation on my husband’s face as we crossed the threshold once again.

This store is quite small.  The lack of physical floor space has not been an impediment at all, with shelves built all the way up the walls to the ceiling.  Pastes, jams, chocolate, icing, flavourings, tinned meats, candied fruits and so much more cling for life on these shelves, and on each other, such is the way in which they are jammed in. It is said the G. Detou is a play on words for “I have everything”. I think this couldn’t be more accurate.

It looks like a game of Tetrus, and I for one am not game to touch them for fear that one jiggle will send them all crashing down.

This shop is old school.  When you are ready to purchase something, you see one of the men who is usually standing behind the counter near the front door.  They take your products and price them, returning to you a paper slip with the total price.  With this slip in hand, you must then go to the cashier, who sits behind the glass at the back of the store and pay.  Once you have paid, the men at the front will give you back your goodies.

Previously we bought some Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans.  A bottle with 50 beans in it for €9  We couldn’t believe our eyes.  We pay $7-9 AUD for TWO beans.  This year we went back in search of the vanilla beans but alas, it seems like the bargain of the century has caught on and they were close to €30 this time. Still, it’s one of the best places to buy genuine vanilla beans in Paris.

I still managed to find myself a great selection of fondant.  The special kind that goes on the top of millefeuille.  I learnt from my cooking class at La Cuisine Paris last year that even the French pastry chefs buy it like this.  It’s much easier than making it from scratch.  I also buy more praline for making mousseline.  I just can’t buy this sort of thing back home.

Next door to the main store is an even smaller store that sells more food of the fresh variety like charcuterie, cheese and confit de canard.

Best Cookware stores in Paris

La Bovida

La Bovida is the place I come to swoon over the pots and pans.  I know, it will sound weird to some, but it’s like I said earlier.  Some will come to Paris to ooh and aah over the latest trend or to buy the latest pair of jeans.  I love coming to Paris and oohing and aahing over the French cookware.

In La Bovida, pots and pans are even used as part of ceiling art, with them hanging off a gigantic wrought iron structure.

It is also here that I see amazing displays of those famously French copper pots.  You know, the ones that you see on tv that are brought to your table with steaming hot, chocolate souffles billowing out of them.  Ok, so maybe I pay just a bit too much attention to these details.

Mora

This store is the place to come for so many pastry chefs.  It has one of the largest ranges of silicon cake and chocolate moulds in Paris.  Every time I come here I sit for ages gazing at the moulds, wondering if I really need another crazy shape. 

Mora is also a cake decorators heaven with an entire (almost secret) room dedicated to icing, fondants, decorations and papers.  It’s amazing.

A. Simon

Another food store that doesn’t need a fancy name.  Just A.Simon.  A name that is synonymous with cooking and catering equipment for restaurants.

E.Dehillerin

In keeping with the theme of many of these amazing cookware stores in Paris, E.Dehillerin is plain on the outside, but makes up for it on the inside. For over 200 years old, this store has been supplying bakeware, pots, pans and utensils to those who love to cook.

You’ll find everythign you need here and so much more.

Tips for food and cookware shopping in Paris

These are some of our favourite food and cooking stores in Paris.  But it is by no means an exclusive list.  Major department stores like Galleries Lafayette, Le Bon Marché and BHV have incredible cookware ranges and food halls. The food and cookware stores above however are for the serious foodie and serious shopper.

• If you are planning to visit any of these food and cookware stores in Paris, be sure to take an extra suitcase or bag (or be prepared to buy something in Paris) to get it all home.
• We also take bubble wrap and packing tape with us so we can pack it all up properly, especially the food items.
• Be mindful of your own country’s quarantine rules if you are buying food. You don’t want to go to all the effort to transport your French goodies all the way home only to find they won’t pass the border regulations.
• Take reusable shopping bags with you.
• Many of these stores are close to one another so plan your visit before you leave so you aren’t darting back and forth into different areas.

Like French cooking? You might also like to make these.

How to make Beef Bourguignon

How to make French Onion Confit

Making French Quiche Lorraine in a motorhome

Making salmon rillettes – an easy recipe

Making Dauphinoise Potatoes